Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Alpha Flight new series preview and writers fondly recall the 1980s series

From the Marvel press release: Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Alpha Flight #1 (of 8), from New York Times best-selling authors Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente and acclaimed artist Dale Eaglesham! Canada’s original super team is back in action – but can they survive the terror of Fear Itself? With their homeland gripped by fear, Alpha Flight has been named enemies of the state and their country has vowed to hunt them down! Can Guardian, Sasquatch and the rest of the team quell the influence of Fear Itself and restore order to the Great White North? The team faces its most daunting enemy yet – their own government – this June, only in Alpha Flight #1 (of 8)!

Fred Van Lente: “Aurora with her split personalities, Sasquatch with his bestial rages, Shaman's estranged family, Snowbird not quite fitting in with the rest of humanity. And Northstar was in the closet, an ex-terrorist and used his mutant powers to defraud the Olympics—how complex a character is that? And Byrne also made, I think, the brilliant decision to split up the team in his first issue, and as they all went their separate ways he had the opportunity to do story arcs focusing on one or two of them, which really let you get to know them as people.”

Greg Pak: “The fantastic character design and the fact that the team featured such a remarkably diverse group of heroes. [That] made a big impact on me when I was a kid picking up that first ALPHA FLIGHT #1. “Northstar’s coming out may win him the Most Dramatically Transformed award. And he’s been a blast to write in the book. But I’m probably most excited about what we’re doing with Shaman. Dale Eaglesham draws him so well; somehow just removing that headband ups his attractiveness about a thousand percent. And we have some interesting things to reveal and explore about him as the series progresses.”

Van Lente: “Puck is such a unique, fun-loving mercenary as a dwarf, he's a true classic. That's why I had him as Logan's right-hand-man in X MEN NOIR. Snowbird has a great otherworldly quality to her; she's one of these mythological characters that really feels alien to our world, and that made her a great fit in INCREDIBLE HERCULES. My new favorite is Marrina, thanks to Dale Eaglesham's redesign. With her resurrection we've given her a complete personality overhaul. I don't want to give too much away, but I predict she'll be the new fan favorite coming out of this series. Also, since Guardian got knocked off early in Byrne's run, we can make him a focus of the series and bring him in new directions, particularly with the premise of our series: that Canada has turned fascist and against Alpha.”

Greg Pak: “Interestingly, Guardian was the least interesting of the characters to me back in the day, but he’s been among the most fun to write in the new series. I particularly love the notes Dale wrote up for his initial character sketches: ‘Little nicks and scars—he’s not the perfect athlete—he is tough, though. Takes chances. Takes risks. Reluctant leader. Has a cottage. Likes lake/sea fishing?’

“I’m having a surprising amount of fun exploring the guy who’s essentially the group’s straight man, the earnest leader who’s just trying to do his job. Sometimes the least flashy character can end up being the deepest and most interesting.”

Van Lente: “The solo Puck adventure, ALPHA FLIGHT #5, was the first one I bought - that really was hooked me on the series. The next one, which focused on Snowbird, which was a battle in the middle of a supernatural blizzard, so you had a lot of all-white panels and sound effects. It was awesome! And who wouldn't love Sasquatch going toe-to-toe with the Super-Skrull in ALPHA FLIGHT #10?”

“As a foreigner I'm loathe to render any deep observation about the Canadian national character. A lot of what I know about the country comes from reading—and rereading and rereading—Byrne's series. Greg and I have done our research though, and we have genuine Canuck Dale Eaglesham watching our backs, so we're going to be as true as we can to the country's heritage.”

1 comment:

I can't wait for this. Van Lente and Pak aren't my favorites (How can you write Hercules out of character?, i still miss my old Herc)...but Eaglesham is fantastic. I hope they get the characters right.

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